Paleoseismology

Tree Rings + Earthquakes = Paleoseismology

To understand the tree-ring record we must study the effects of known earthquakes on tree rings. These are termed analog studies. Analog studies help us to understand the tree-ring record of earthquakes. By identifying patterns in analog studies, we can look at the record from annual rings of older trees for the same type of evidence for earthquake disturbance (table 1) .

Table 1. Evidence found in trees that can be related to seismic activity

I

If you are interested in tree-rings and seismic activity, please contact Dr. Gordon Jacoby at druid@ldeo.columbia.edu